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The University of Western Australia’s Professor Melinda Hodkiewicz is one of 25 Australian leaders in science, technology and engineering to be elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering this year.

Professor Hodkiewicz, from UWA’s School of Engineering and BHP Fellow for Engineering for Remote Operations, is an internationally recognised leader in asset management through research, education and leading open and shared digitalisation projects.

She said it was an honour to be elected to such a prestigious national body of experts.

“Machines and other assets can talk to us and we’re getting better at listening to them,” Professor Hodkiewicz said.

“Digital developments will transform the way we design, operate and maintain assets leading to improved safety and reliability.

“This is particularly important for operating assets in remote places, an intrinsic challenge for Australia. Maintenance is entering a golden age and Australia can be a world leader.”

Instrumental in developing and implementing best practice methods in asset management in Australia and worldwide, she chaired the Standards Australia committee responsible for the ISO 55001 Asset Management Standard and in 2016 received the MESA Medal, a lifetime achievement award for services to the asset management community.

In 2015 Professor Hodkiewicz became the BHP Billiton Fellow for Engineering for Remote Operations at UWA. In 2016, she was appointed to the METS Ignited Advisory Council, and the following year she joined the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority Advisory Board.

In 2018, Professor Hodkiewicz was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the Alan Turing Institute in London with the Data Centric Engineering group to work on the “Siri for Maintenance” project and was also part of the successful Australian Research Council and industry-funded bid to establish a new Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science.

By establishing multidisciplinary teams she has broken new ground in understanding human, organisational and technology factors that affect asset maintenance and safety.

Media references

Professor Melinda Hodkiewicz (UWA School of Engineering)                                    08 6488 7911

Simone Hewett (UWA Media & PR Adviser)                                                            08 6488 7975